Leadership & Career Management Blog

Leadership lessons – What leaders and managers actually do?  ·   We have been talking lately a lot about leadership skills and abilities. I think it is time to spend a little time on what leaders actually do in their work so we have a bit of a clearer target to start aiming at as we … Leadership Lessons – What leaders and managers actually do? Read More »

Career management – 10 top tips for job interviews. Job interviews can be very stressful situations if you are not used to them. The worst part is that even if you are fully qualified for the position on paper, an unconfident or unorganised interview performance will effectively prevent you from getting the positions you apply … 10 Top tips for job interviews Read More »

Essential Leadership Skills: Say “no” – even to your boss  ·   To be a high performer at your work and advance quickly on your career, you have to be able to focus on things that matter. This means that you have to be able to focus on your high priority topics and have to be … Essential Leadership Skills: Say “No” -even to your boss Read More »

12 Most important leadership skills and abilities  · What are the most important leadership skills and abilities? What leadership skills should I learn? I hear these questions quite often and here is one answer that has been working for me and many others quite well. This list might look a bit different than many others … 12 Most important leadership skills Read More »

What are good (business) leaders made of?  · There is a reason why good business leaders are relatively rare, sought after and well-paid. Being a truly competent, confident, credible, and strong leader goes much deeper and wider than learning a few leadership and management skills. It requires a complete package of identity, traits, character, mindset, … Essential Leadership Skills: What are good leaders made of? Read More »

Career Management: Questions to ask in a job interview Asking relevant questions in a job interview can be as important as your answers to the interviewer’s questions. By asking questions you will demonstrate your interest, motivation and also preparation, as you can ask clarifications and additional details to information you have acquired before the interview. … Career Management: Questions to ask in a job Interview Read More »

Leadership Lessons: False beliefs and misconceptions about leaders and management careers  · There are many misconceptions about leaders, leadership, and building management careers. These misconceptions are very limiting and prevent too many people from even thinking about starting a management career or becoming a leader. I have listed and broken down the most common misconceptions … Leadership Lessons: False beliefs and misconceptions about leaders and management careers Read More »

Pursuing a leadership career – why should you lead?  ·  A bit more philosophical article today, as I am pondering the reasons for pursuing a leadership career despite all the challenges it brings to our lives. Leadership and leading professionally is one career path that in my opinion stands apart from many of the other … Pursuing a leadership career – why should you lead? Read More »

Essential Leadership Skills: Leading up  · The concept of leading up is essential for the efficient cooperation with your manager and upper management. If you feel that your manager or other managers are constantly bothering you, or questioning your work and requiring more reports, this happens most likely because you do not provide enough information … Essential Leadership Skills: Leading up Read More »

Leadership lessons: Your identity – you are not your title  ·   When you ask people who they are, their answers are often something like project manager, developer, engineer, director, vice president, CEO etc. , even outside the work environment. While your work and title are a part of your identity, you should not let them … Leadership Lessons: Your identity – you are not your title Read More »

Essential Leadership Skills: How to Lead Remotely  ·  Current situation with COVID-19 and lockdowns have changed how we work (at least for a now), as many of us haven’t probably trained or even thought about long-time remote work and leading completely remote teams before. While many of us are already used to home office days … Essential Leadership Skills: How To Lead Remotely Read More »

Essential Leadership skills: Act like a leader, talk like a leader, become a leader  ·  Once you start to act like a leader and talk like a leader, you are well on your way to becoming one. Here are just a few simple mindsets and patterns of behaviour that will set you on the right … Essential Leadership Skills: Act Like a Leader Read More »

Essential Leadership Skills: Leaders rely on trust and respect to wield influence  ·  Building trust between everyone you are working with is essential for every leader. This includes your colleagues, your manager and his peers, the higher management and especially the customers, if you are in contact with them. Without trust you won’t have much … Essential Leadership Skills: Influence from trust and respect Read More »

Career Management: Choose your position wisely  ·  When choosing a new place to work (see this article), you should also carefully evaluate your potential position and how it will fit into your overall career vision, goals and life situation. The compensation and the title are of course essential parts of the decision, but don’t let … Career Management: Choose your position wisely Read More »

Career Management: Choose your company wisely  ·  Working for the right company is essential for your career development possibilities. The optimal company should have a healthy level of growth that results in an upward motion of the managers through different levels as the company evolves. The growth also expands the operations, which again creates completely … Career Management: Choose your company wisely Read More »

Decision making is one of the defining skills and responsibilities of all the successful leaders. It is an essential ability through your whole career, as the decisions you make (or don’t make) in your work and in your personal life will in the end define who you are, and what you will achieve.

Career changes to different industries or areas of expertise  ·  Complete career changes in general can set your advancement back quite a bit. However, they can also be the one key thing that will get you moving and get you out of a job and career that does not offer any further possibilities for yourself … Career Management: Career changes to different industries or areas of expertise Read More »

Extreme morning routine for extraordinary results  ·  Morning routines have been a hot topic for the past years, and every successful high-performer seems to have one. Hype or not, it is not a coincidence that so many people swear by them. I am currently also in the group of having quite extreme morning routine to … Extreme morning routine for extraordinary results Read More »

How to ask for a raise and negotiate salary – complete guide  ·  Asking for a raise can feel quite a scary situation: You are putting yourself and your value to the company up for evaluation, and there is always a chance that you don’t like the answer you will get. Many people also don’t … How to ask for a raise and negotiate salary – complete guide Read More »

Essential Leadership Skills: Delegating  ·  The higher position you work in, the more you will need to delegate the hands-on work to other people. This skill is something that especially the new managers will need to learn quickly to be able to let go of their old tasks, and to get a solid grasp of … Essential Leadership Skills: Delegating Read More »

Essential Leadership Skills: Employee Engagement  · Do you know how engaged your employees are? These statistics tell that you probably don’t. While doing some research on productivity and high performance in the workplaces, I came across some very interesting stats about employee engagement, and how massive impact it (or rather the lack of it) can … Essential Leadership Skills: Employee Engagement Read More »

How to ask for a promotion – complete guide  ·  Asking for a promotion is often seen as a scary situation, as it puts us in the position to reveal our ambitions and dreams, and then be judged and possibly rejected by our superiors. However, it is the best way to advance your career and … How to ask for a promotion – complete guide Read More »

Essential Leadership Skills: Crisis Management  ·  Crisis situations will raise now and then in your own work, and within your team or the whole company. They often hit due to the occurrence of some unseen events or nasty surprises, or they can be raised by some oversights or mistakes in our work or planning. No … Essential Leadership Skills: Crisis Management Read More »

Do you know how amazingly costly it can be to deny a salary raise?  ·  While writing an article about asking a salary raise, I came upon very interesting statistics of the costs of employee turnover for companies. I have been part of a few hundred salary negotiations, decisions, approvals and review rounds on my … Do you know how amazingly costly it can be to deny a salary raise? Read More »

13 steps how to get a promotion to your first management position – and how to get promoted quickly  ·  Getting promotion to your first manager position can be a difficult task, and it may prove impossible if you don’t know the correct tactics and don’t prepare properly. It is important to understand that it … 13 steps how to get a promotion to your first management position quickly Read More »

10 reasons why some people get promoted fast and often  · Some people seem to be on a fast track on their career, collecting promotions and taking up greater responsibilities on a pace that most people can just dream of. When you look at them going from the sidelines, it seems that they must have … 10 reasons why some people get promoted fast and often Read More »

Take ownership of your work – Troubleshooting, Part 2  ·  This is the second part of the article, Take ownership of your work, and start to lead: Troubleshooting. The First part is here. In theory, taking ownership of your work and starting to lead doesn’t sound too hard to do, right? Why then isn’t everyone … Take ownership of your work – Troubleshooting, Part 2 Read More »

Become a Leader: Take ownership of your work and start to lead  ·  So, you have found your workplace, or you have been there for a while already, and now you want to kick it up to a new level. The first thing to do is to show yourself and everyone else around you that … Take ownership of your work and start to lead, Part 1 Read More »

Having strong support and advisors is essential for effective career development. It is said that having the right support will constitute half of your success, while only half is your own doing.